Pet-food recall: Timing and triggers
By Gina Spadafori
April 26, 2007
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In Tuesday’s four-hour session of live-blogging the food-safety hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives – work from which her wrists have yet to recover – Christie found herself typing something we at the PetConnection first heard weeks ago, but couldn’t get confirmation on until it came up in the hearing:
Iams stepped up and forced Menu’s recall.
In sworn testimony, Menu Foods CEO Paul Henderson admitted that his company called the recall because Iams told them they’d had enough, that their own quality internal systems had revealed a problem, and that they were pulling their own products even if Menu wouldn’t pull them all.
It was that stand that triggered everything that has followed since. Menu launched the massive and unprecedented recall before Iams could, but only because Iams was ready to do it on their own. Here’s the transcript:
STUPAK: “I was surprised by your answer this morning, Mr. Henderson. If you take a look at the record and the timeline, March 15th was your first recall for all wheat gluten manufactured between Dec 3rd, 2006 to March 6th. March 24th was your second recall; you expanded to include additional dates. On April 5th, you had your third recall. On April 10th you had your fourth recall. So an immediate recall authority by the FDA would not have taken a month for you to recall your products. Correct?”
HENDERSON: “I would have to say that’s incorrect. The information that you’re looking on, the recall that took place relative to the date of March 16th, Menu Foods at that point in time did not know what the problem was.”
STUPAK: “Well, I’m not asking about the problem. My question was a recall, should, should we give the FDA the right to an immediate authority, and would it have made any difference. You said you didn’t think it would make any difference in this case, and yet the recall went on for about a month. I think an immediate recall authority for the FDA would have made a difference here.”
HENDERSON: “The, the recall that was initiated by Menu Foods and the, essentially as a result of following conversations with the FDA, we identified, this was the scope we’re proposing to do. Whether or not they might have come up with a different scope, that’s a valid point. They might have come up and said, recall more, or recall less.”
STUPAK: “But even before you - I don’t mean to be argumentative, here - even before you, at Menu Foods, and the FDA decided to recall, Iams had already told you they would no longer accept your product, and they were going to recall all food manufactured by Menu Food in, at the KS plant, right? So, really, IAMS was the first one to really start it, the ball rolling here that something was wrong. And I guess maybe what we’re getting at here is there’s also a corporate responsibility, instead of waiting for the FDA. If Iams, the pet food manufacturer sees a problem, and they’re recalling it, I would have hoped that the corporations would have done it without FDA authority. But even WITH FDA authority, if we could grant that to them, I think we could have maybe limited the scope of the harm caused throughout
our country.”HENDERSON: “Well, again, relative to the facts as they actually transpired, the conversation that took place with Iams, they, they essentially shared some information with us. We got together the next day, and essentially in a, in a rather lengthy meeting, both parties exchanged what they knew. Being that individually there wasn’t enough information to, to draw conclusions. But together, it looked as from a circumstantial evidence perspective, as if we had the basis for a recall. They opted to recall, we went along. We announced first.”
STUPAK: “Iams sees the need for a recall, but almost two weeks before that, your own taste testing lab out of 20 animals, three died and six were dead That’s almost 50 percent; I would that would cause Menu Foods to be concerned and talk about a recall, or what’s going on here quicker, than wait until Iams forces the issue, and then the FDA, and on and on.”
Iams has now confirmed that account with us: That they would have launched their own recall if Menu hadn’t.
Why does this matter?
Because while we certainly do think the recalls should have been made sooner – and should be being made now, based on what the FDA already now knows and will not reveal to us – we shudder to think how much worse this situation could have been had Iams not muscled Menu into pulling all affected “cuts and gravy” product.
Would we have ever known there was a problem if they hadn’t? Before the first recall, veterinarians across the country were comparing notes and scratching their heads over the mysterious increase in acute renal failure in their practices. We had veterinarians wondering if the problems were local – such as in a pesticide incident, or serial pet poisoner – and those who were suspecting that something must larger was going on. But what?
The Menu Foods recall was the “AHA!” moment when it all made sense.
But had Iams not threatened their own recall based on their own internal tracking systems, would the rise in acute renal cases just been just a blip on the radar screen, a misunderstood and tragic aberation? Without Iams own internal investigation and the power they could bring to bear on their contract manufacturer, would we now have a massive FDA investigation into Chinese imports and their possible contamination of the human food chain? Two Congressional hearings? And much, much more?
These are all good questions, and we’ll never know all the answers. But it’s very possible that without the decision of one of the big pet food companies to take the hit entirely on their own, we wouldn’t know anything at all now, and many thousands more of our pets might be sick or dead, without anyone ever really knowing why.
By the way … anyone who thinks we’re “on the side of” anything more than blogging everything we can on this issue really ought to take a day and read the last five-plus weeks of posts. Sorry if everything we do here can’t fit into your neat little agenda. But we’re not about agenda: We’re about reporting to the best of our ability, even the information you don’t like. Tough luck, there.
As always, people who cannot behave like grown-ups and discuss the issues without attacking others will be moderated and (if the behavior continues) banned from further posting.
***
The Macleans piece Christie blogged last night really is a must-read. It may well be the best I’ve seen about market forces, global trade and food-safety issues in the greater context. Go read.
Update: QandAs from the SacBee and from the AP … homemade pet meals from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution … legal issues from the Philadelphia Inquirer … and changes proposed for the FDA from Congressional Quarterly. Here’s an excerpt from that last one:
Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin plans to offer an amendment on the Senate floor next week that may include language permitting the FDA to order mandatory recalls of tainted food products and fine companies that don’t promptly report spoiled food, according to an aide.
The Illinois Democrat’s plan to amend the FDA reauthorization bill (S 1082), which is scheduled for Senate debate next week, is part of a renewed push in Congress to strengthen food safety enforcement.
In the House, Connecticut Democrat Rosa DeLauro, who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee that determines spending for the FDA, said she is poised to cut off salaries for the agency’s top managers in the fiscal 2008 spending bill unless officials report immediately how they will improve food inspections, recalls and standards.
“Our food safety system is collapsing, and the very agency in charge is asleep,” said DeLauro, who explained that her spending bill will spell out the FDA food safety activities that will be supported with funding next year.
Christie will take on the rest of the day shift today. I’ve got some asthma and bronchitis issues, typical of the season, but I’m really hoping to avoid pneumonia this time.
Update 2: China bans melamine in food products … Utah company connected to rice protein powders, salvaged pet food and hogs … China says they didn’t do it, and they’re not going to do it anymore. … Washington Post on China, by popular request. … and Scientific American, an overview.
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This brings up some more interesting history. Some of you might recall a campaign PETa started against IAMS a number of years ago based on PETa’s allegations that IAMS conducted feeding studies in which the animals were horribly mistreated. The PETa page on that campaign is here:
http://www.iamscruelty.com/
IAMS responses can be found on these sites:
http://tinyurl.com/33bxxr
http://tinyurl.com/3b2a7b
What is really interesting in light of these current events is that - as I understand it - the facility where PETa’s “investigative reporter” went undercover was actually the MenuFoods’ feeding studies facility. I’m at work and don’t have time to dig further into my recollections of this. Can anyone else take this further?
Anyway, what a love/hate relationship IAMS must have with MenuFoods, huh?
Comment by Pat — April 26, 2007 @ 7:48 am
We were lucky, my cat, Mr. Red, survived kidney failure. It was the night of the recall, just two hours after Menu published their list, did I realize it was from the food. First I called the Vet, then I called IAMS. Three days later, I was speaking with a Vet Tech and have spoken with her once a week for the last 5 weeks. However angry, sad, and helpless I feel, it’s nice to see a company taking responsiblity. And yes, I did receive an apology. One more brownie point for IAMS.
Comment by Sherrie Rutter — April 26, 2007 @ 8:05 am
The Pet Food Industry has ZERO CREDIBILITY.
It’s too bad they don’t at least have the courage to admit what they are, shameless cowards, and what they want, unrestricted wealth without ethics, so the American people could make a clear decision about the direction they really want the country to follow.
There needs to be a criminal investigation.
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 8:06 am
From The Michigan Department of Agruculture:
http://michigan.gov/mda/0,1607.....2;,00.html
“We’re Watching Out For You!
The Michigan Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) primary responsibility is assuring the safety and wholesomeness of Michigan’s food supply. MDA regularly monitors Michigan’s food supply for pesticide residues, micro-organisms, and other substances that would compromise the quality and wholesomeness of the food we eat.
That long-standing commitment to a safe food supply has earned Michigan a national reputation for strictly enforcing the state’s food and dairy laws placing our state head and shoulders above other states, even federal government.
MDA inspectors monitor Michigan’s food supply at each step in the food chain — from the farm to the store.”
A national reputation? I had no idea and I’ve lived here all of my life!
And this statement from the MDA:
http://michigan.gov/mda/0,1607.....2;,00.html
“Protecting Food at the Processing Plant and at the Store
MDA staff inspects the plants where food is processed including bakeries, candy manufacturers, cereal and flour mills, and processors of ice, maple syrup, fruit, and vegetables. In 1996, 1,651 seizures occurred due to a variety of violations.
In 1996, food inspectors conducted 14,979 inspections in food establishments which included monitoring the wholesomeness of food, the sanitary conditions of the facility, and the misuse or inappropriate storage of pesticides.
A special sampling and inspection program assures all frozen desserts and soft cheese products are free of pathogenic bacteria, i.e. Listeria and Yersinia, which can cause illness in the elderly, young, and immuno-suppressed.
Dairy inspectors inspect and test all dairy products including infant formulas for detection of pesticide residues and heavy metal compounds.”
See, my pets and I are perfectly safe! *Gagging*
OK - Several problem here…..starting with using statistics that are over ten years old!
Comment by PJ — April 26, 2007 @ 8:08 am
Until a few weeks ago, Americans might have been amused to imagine that—despite the varieties of colors and adorably shaped fishes, bones and jolly little stars—the multitudinous brands of major pet foods come from the same factory kitchen. However, a recall of possibly poisoned cat and dog food revealed that for three months ending on March 6, Canadian-based Menu Foods Income Fund produced ingredients that ended up in 100 brands manufactured in two U.S. plants.
Adding to the bad taste is that Menu Foods is an income trust, a kind of Canadian tax dodge, sometimes equated with Ponzi schemes. It will be interesting to see how readily that financial structure regurgitates the millions in potential damages.
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 8:15 am
I’m happy that Iams finally took the stand they did with Menu Foods, saving the lives of many pets, I’m sure. I’ve always wondered who really got the recall going because…the general public never knew who Menu Foods even was. The complaints did not go to them.. complaints were called in to the pet food companies themselves, who then complained to MF. I wonder how many complaints the individual companies got before checking in with MF and asking questions. When did the increase of complaints begin?
I’ve also wondered about the wide variances of the dates of the recalled foods. I just assumed that the shelf life of the cans/pouches were 2 - 3 yrs. Since some of the expiration dates on these cans/pouches are early in 2008, I am questioning just when they were canned… long before Nov ‘06?? Sooo many unanswered questions!
Comment by Pat — April 26, 2007 @ 8:26 am
Now, we’re getting someplace. The legal discovery of when Iams first contacted Menu about this pet kill will tell us how much of a “coincidence” Menu executives insider trading was!
Comment by elizabeth R. — April 26, 2007 @ 8:39 am
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 8:15 am
Who are it’s shareholders?
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 8:51 am
Why isn’t the Securities and Exchange Comm. investigating Henderson. I know it’s a Canadian Co. but they operate in the US. If his actions were not insider trading, I would like to know what is!
Comment by Robin — April 26, 2007 @ 9:01 am
The simple fact is that our government protects big business and the concept of free market more than it protects its citizens (including our pets).
Food companies do not want tight controls on their imports and our government complies.
It is evident in the slow repsonse to our pet food poisoning and by the downsizing of the FDA, and by our quasi-American corporations supporting Chinese owned companies. Our American companies financially support the development of these exports - a cheap source of products so these global corporations can make more money off of us and our dying pets.
As our population ages, more people will own pets and buy pet products and we can be further exploited.
Menu doesn’t care about our pets and never did. Trader Joes now has their wet pet food back on the shelves (made by Menu) and their labels do not mention wheat, corn, rice gluten or protein concentrates - and we know its an ingredient in their pet food.
This is a very sad state of affairs.
Comment by Issy — April 26, 2007 @ 9:17 am
Just a thought here, seems like we could figure this out right here, for ourselves. Who all these companies, factories ect are that are still mysterious silent. It’s all in the brand names and types of food, UPS codes, best if used by dates. The 4,000 plus self reported pet deaths, all must have common threads to where, who and when produced the “suspected” pet foods. Seems to me waiting for these companies to “come on down” with the truth that they don’t have to disclose could be a never gonna tell. Unless they “hog” tied to do so.
Comment by Maudigan — April 26, 2007 @ 9:17 am
http://tinyurl.com/233n76
Those who are interested in the legal issues of suing Menu Foods can read this complaint, filed by the behemoth Lerach class action law firm. You’ll notice that they are suing Menu Foods, a foreign co., and 3 subsidiaries of Menu Foods which are incorporated in the U.S. (2 in DE, 1 in NJ). These complaints are filed rather quickly after an incident as a rule, and then are amended as investigation gathers steam. (Other law firms have filed complaints as well, and I’m sure you can find them through Google.)
Comment by Maureen — April 26, 2007 @ 9:21 am
elizabeth R., you are clever and you must be right on. The ‘horrible coincidence’ is getting caught.
If Iams is now the heroic bully, why don’t they dump Menu foods altogether and remake their reputation based on great food and transparency? Their contract must have been violated due to this incident and I’m sure P&G can get out of anything anyway.
And why is anyone doing ag business with China? Don’t they just sound childish and silly every time we hear from them? Of course, the FDA sounds like a big bunch of dopes too. Anyway, I want all my ingredients NOT to come from China. At all.
Comment by Cynthia — April 26, 2007 @ 9:28 am
The Canadian Press alluded to Iams’ role in forcing Menu Foods’ recall—a fact that was reported widely by the Canadia media but never picked up nor fleshed out by the U.S. media.
It is only now, nearly six weeks after the Canadian Press article, that this factoid is finally confirmed — but not through any media outlet; rather, by pure serendipity and a slip of someone’s tongue. Makes me wonder, then, about the validity of that other factoid the CP reported in the same article—that Menu Foods first began receiving complaints from pet guardians in early DECEMBER 2006. If true, and it likely is, this fact flies in the face of what MF told the FDA (that they first received complaints on Feb. 20, 2007) and reveals that they put off a initiating the recall for more than THREE MONTHS, not for just “three weeks”—as the U.S. press keeps mindlessly repeating.
Reported by the CP in the Canadian media on or about March 16th:
“Starting in December, concerns began filtering back to the company through toll-free customer lines about the “cuts and gravy” style pet food. Callers complained their animals had fallen ill after eating the food, although no direct link was established.
One large customer in the United States initiated its own recall after receiving complaints and put future orders for the products on hold.”
Comment by Nikki — April 26, 2007 @ 9:35 am
I’ve asked the question before: Does “Iams” hold shares of Menu Foods Income Fund? Can anyone unearth the list of shareholders for Menu Foods Income Fund? This will be important.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 9:35 am
Have we heard anything about Pedigree food - maybe theirs is okay? I haven’t used Pedigree in years but I’m for anything that isn’t poisoned.
Comment by Issy — April 26, 2007 @ 9:41 am
Well I guess we owe Iams thanks. I am glad they took that stance with Menu but still irritated as hell that it took as long as it did.
Comment by Adrienne — April 26, 2007 @ 9:45 am
RE: the comment about insider trading, a google finance search on Menu Foods (MEW.UN) shows an article about the CFO selling nearly half his units (stock) less than 3 weeks before the recall. Draw your own conclusions.
Comment by Debra — April 26, 2007 @ 9:49 am
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 9:35 am
Iams/Eukanuba was purchased by Proctor & Gamble a couple of years ago. You can look up P & G’s holdings on their SEC filings.
Menu Foods Income Fund is traded in Canada (look up income fund on Wikipedia.com for a description of its structure; e.g., it has “unit holders” not shareholders). As of 2004 or so, it’s chairman was the company’s largest shareholder, but he died. It’s not a huge company, as companies go. Public companies in the US have to file notice when shareholders reach a certain % of ownership; don’t know if that’s true in Canada. Think this is line of investigation might be somewhat of a red herring.
Comment by Maureen — April 26, 2007 @ 9:50 am
American Nutrition is the other company.
Comment by Issy — April 26, 2007 @ 9:59 am
Their founder just died: They also own Southwest Pet Food Products in Phoenix and Northwets Pet Products in Woodland Washington.
See this article for more information.
http://kutv.com/topstories/loc.....60835.html
Comment by Issy — April 26, 2007 @ 10:09 am
In November/December I was not able to get Wellness Feline Salmon/Trout canned food (yellow label) in the 3 oz. cans. The store claimed to not know what the problem was. We joked that maybe the Trout weren’t “running” like the Salmon were. Of course at that point I thought wellness packed their own food. Now we know it was Menufoods. I would love to know what the “production” problem was with that particular type of food at that time. (Was there an issue with that formula and did they just silently pull back production?) I also read the Canadian reports that Menu started receiving complaints about its products in December, so in my mind they certainly wasted time. I have said in this forum that consumer complaints in my experience often as not point to procedural issues, not just problems connected to a single consumer. Companies must adequately budget for this function and staff it with people who understand the business. This function ideally should function independently much like auditors to advise and direct management to address weaknesses as they are detected. Otherwise, disaster.
Comment by Shawn — April 26, 2007 @ 10:31 am
Yes, Iams surely deserves credit for initiating the recall. Maybe calling this to attention will give pause to folks who castigate Iams on the basis of PETA’s propaganda.
I wish that Iams would make a cat food that is lower in carbs and vegetable proteins, but that’s another story…
Comment by David — April 26, 2007 @ 10:36 am
I haven’t heard anything about Pedigree, has anyone heard anymore about Purina’s dry foods?
I know my neighbor’s are using Pedigree without any problems, however, we’re in Florida, and I think which factory produces the food has a lot to do with this mess. Some locations got the tainted “crap” and others didn’t.
Comment by Falcon K — April 26, 2007 @ 10:36 am
American Nutrition makes Authority dry foods for PetSmart.
Comment by Kathy Hash — April 26, 2007 @ 10:46 am
So here’s what popped into my mind…
As strange as it may sound, I think IAMS did everyone a favor by not being the one to recall their food.
I say this only because had IAMS initiated their own recall, it would have only pertained to their product. By forcing Menu to do it, the recall covered all of their brands.
It is possible that it could have taken Menu even longer to initiate a recall on the remaining brands had IAMS done their own.
Comment by Carole — April 26, 2007 @ 10:49 am
“There’s no reason to put off eating pork,” Blackham said.
SALT LAKE CITY — The state is testing hogs from three northern Utah farms to see if they ate pet food that was contaminated with an industrial chemical, agriculture officials said Wednesday.
There’s a possibility the hogs ate feed made from “scraps and sweepings” from American Nutrition, a pet food plant in Ogden that received potentially contaminated rice protein concentrate from China, said Leonard Blackham, commissioner of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food.
http://howl911.com/
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 11:02 am
RE: Menu Foods Income Fund Shareholders’ Names
I believe two female shareholders, who identify themselves before they speak, ask questions of Mr. Henderson. Go toward the end of the broadcast to listen to female voices. I have to leave right now.
Here is the link to the audio broadcast of the 2006 Fourth Quarter Results
Audio Conference Link is below(25 minutes total)
Click on “Listen to the Archive” button
http://events.onlinebroadcasti...../index.php
Comment by petlover — April 26, 2007 @ 11:08 am
AMERICAN NUTRITION AND ITS PRODUCTS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECENT NATIONWIDE
PET FOOD RECALL!
Uhhh I think you are now folks.
http://www.anibrands.com/index.html
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 11:10 am
I saw the same information that Nikki mentioned early on, ie that complaints were first received late last year.
Can’t remember now where I read it, but I recall wondering at that moment “then why the hell has it taken until now to start recalling products?”. Then the spin began and the current “myth” that MF didn’t have a clue until end of February was repeated everywhere. Ditto to the person who suggested that the Iams complaints likely were the trigger for the MF’s CFO panic stock sale. You know, first the coincidence…oops, no, now it it was a “clerical” error. Yep. Because he wanted it sold right after the first complaints in December, and any other insider info he received that alarmed him. Instead, some moron didn’t sell it for him until Feb…
Comment by TC — April 26, 2007 @ 11:11 am
And I might be more impressed with IAMS if they had made public announcements with the one single fact pet owners needed to know.
Did anyone see an IAMS spoke person on TV saying
“If your pet is drinking too much water, or having a change in urination, no matter what pet food you are feeding, we at IAMS think you need to have the pet seen by a vet immediately, because we really care about your pet”
Did you see anything like that?
Me neither.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 26, 2007 @ 11:12 am
Well this explains why IAMS wants to cover their own customer reimbursement bills. Doesn’t sound like they wanted to ‘owe’ Menu anything.
Comment by Carole — April 26, 2007 @ 11:15 am
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 26, 2007 @ 11:12 am
No I haven’t seen the brands presenting their village idiot spokespersons much lately. On TV or otherwise.
Apparently they’ve thrown their hands up in the air and could care less at this point if there is a mass die off of pets and citizens.
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 11:17 am
> They also own Southwest Pet Food Products in Phoenix and Northwest Pet Products in Woodland Washington.
Info culled from American Nutrition Inc’s “About” page (http://www.anibrands.com/about.htm):
* 50% of their pet food is produced at Ogden, UT plant (corporate HQ)
* 30% of their pet food is produced at Northwest Pet in Woodland, WA
* 20% of their pet food is produced at Southwest Pet in Phoenix, AZ
* Their products include contract manufacturing of pet foods and private label pet foods in addition to American Nutrition’s own brands
* ANI also produces premium, biodegradable cat litter.
* They also own Rocky Mountain Milling and Pacific Pet Products
Two lists of brands registered in Utah by American Nutrition are available at the Utah Dept of Food and Agriculture. This list contains things not readily apparent from the ANI web site home page, including Kirkland brand, which I believe is the Costco house brand.
List 1: http://tinyurl.com/2cdqtq
List 2: http://tinyurl.com/ynw82a
I’m not 100% sure, but it appears that Rocky Mountain Milling is the one registered in Ogden, UT. A list of *their* Utah registered brand names is available at http://tinyurl.com/2uyzaf
Comment by Barry — April 26, 2007 @ 11:17 am
Quote: —————-
Well I guess we owe Iams thanks. I am glad they took that stance with Menu but still irritated as hell that it took as long as it did.
Comment by Adrienne — April 26, 2007 @ 9:45 am
End Quote ————————-
Well I guess we wait and see.
Our cats got sick from Iams, one of them almost died; I paid several arms and legs in vet bills and got the news that Iams’ vets will [one day] talk to my vets; both cats - should they survive this - will have their life span drastically shortened with CRF looming in the future …
because Iams outsourced their operations and obviously had no quality checks in place.
My points of interest would be:
a) when did Iams start using Menu Food Income Fund as their processing operation?
b) Are there any statistics about the cases of Renal Failure in cats, Iams, and the time before and after the switch?
c) How long did Iams actually ‘wait and see’ before they decided to recall their food? Was it really only at the end of February 07 or did all that start much, much earlier?
I somewhat fail to see a reason to herald a company who is directly responsible for my cats pain and suffering, *and is now again showing their [bleeeeeeep] advertisements on TV*.
Comment by MaKo — April 26, 2007 @ 11:18 am
Comment by petlover — April 26, 2007 @ 11:08 am
Thanks.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 11:22 am
Comment by MaKo — April 26, 2007 @ 11:18 am
Basically what the Pet Food Cartel is saying is,
“We feel sorry for the poor bastards who are victims but it’s not our responsibility”.
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 11:23 am
MaKo I agree with you. IAMS is as bad as the rest. The only reason for their actions was to cover their butts. Anyone who thinks it isn’t just about the money is fooling themselves. A Boycott that hits them in the wallet is the best way to get results.
Comment by Falcon K — April 26, 2007 @ 11:25 am
Do you have pet food that you want to have tested?
I just came across this info on the petsitusa blog. There is an independent lab that is now testing pet food for pet owners. You do not need a vet to arrange the test,you deal *directly* with the lab unlike the other labs I previously heard of.
http://tinyurl.com/2bz328
Midwest Laboratories
13611 B Street
Omaha, NE 68144
Ph: (402) 334-7770
Any other labs out there starting to do independent testing?
Comment by Gracie — April 26, 2007 @ 11:40 am
A couple of things: American Nutrition doesn’t seem to list all their brands on the website (judging from people’s comments). Does anyone have a complete list of what they make? I need to get a good list to print for people I’m keeping updated.
Also, can anyone get to the bottom of the CP article that said Menu Foods first began receiving complaints from pet guardians in early DECEMBER 2006. (Thanks Nadine, for mentioning it). I remember reading it at the time this first happened, but that was the only place I could find that complaints started in December. Any Canadians, or media people who could look into that? It’s been bugging me for a while.
Finally, wanted to comment on the whole thing about the FDA saying this goes back to 2006. My aunt’s dog almost died 9/2006. She had the same symptoms everyone’s described, and had to be kept on IVs for a few days. She was eating ALPO canned and Purina One dry. Now, my aunt’s doing homecooking (THanks everyone for suggestion on books with recipes). I’m wondering if my aunt’s dog was an early victim. . . BTW, check out Cafepress.com. THe march’s shirts are on there, but I love Howl911’s shirts.. Now if only they made them into a bumper sticker…Gina, Christie, any plans for PetConnection to come out with shirts and stuff? I’m sure you have plenty of fodder!
Comment by Krystal Kubichek — April 26, 2007 @ 11:45 am
Well, I see that the Utah Company, American Nutrition, finally stepped forward. I posted their website here on ITCHMO a week ago, probably along with many others who had identified them. They are a very cheap pet food company. I am already into holistic pet foods but this tells me the those really cheap foods are at risk if only because they were among the LAST to step up to the plate and reluctantly issue recalls. I just really hate that the FDA has no recall authority and has to leave it up to companies like this to police themselves.
Also, I found the FDA 1990 article that names the two brothers who added UREA to grain 30 years ago. It’s on my blog posts for today. That company is still in business and articles about them merely mention “they had allegations of wrongdoing”… never mind $500K worth of fines.
The Safe Pet Food Blog
http://safepetfood.wordpress.com
Comment by Teresa Holladay — April 26, 2007 @ 11:48 am
Even thought this is what has been suspected, especially with the “conincidence” of the stock sale, I’m still stunned. That’s proven negligence right there. Jeez, my poor cats. Everyone’s poor cats and dogs. This whole nightmare could’ve been avoided.
I don’t think Iam’s forcing Menu’s hand resolves them of any blame. This whole thing is about money and now the fools are spending ours on vet bills.
This just gets worse and worse every day.
Comment by Sharon — April 26, 2007 @ 11:50 am
I’ve found the following combination of activities helpful for reducing sinus headaches, breathing difficulties, and even inhaler use:
1) Use a clothes washer with a ‘sterilize’ cycle on sheets and blankets at least once a week.
2) Cover mattresses with mite-proof envelopes.
3) Eliminate ‘air fresheners’ whether spray, evaporative, plug-in, ‘ozone’ creating, or candle types. They don’t ‘freshen’, they just pollute.
4) Use copious amounts of plain saline nasal spray, starting in the shower in the morning and again every time breathing gets a little ‘stuffy’. (Hint, it’s really cheap in 3-packs at Costco.)
5) Use pleated media filters sized for the system in furnaces/AC’s, NOT electrostatic filters, which by their action all create ozone.
6) Add a UV light over the AC cooling coils to kill mold.
7) Avoid exercising in the morning when pollen counts are highest.
8) Use wood or leather covered furniture instead of cloth. As a bonus, pet fir brushes right off. Also they make good chew toys for puppies.
9) Changing pet crate blankets daily and washing the stack of them weekly on ‘sterilize’ is also helpful. Having them sleep on the bed is not. But…we all know that already, and ignore it.
10) In case of a cold or other respiratory infection, whether viral or bacterial, treat early and aggressively with fluids, rest, and *real* pseudoephedrine. Also gargle with a cup of warm salt water (1 teaspoon/cup) several times a day. Use saline nasal spray often as well. (My favorite fluid treatment involves hot lemonade with honey, spiked with whiskey. After all, *real* Nyquil had alcohol. They called it an ‘inactive ingredient’. Inactive my @ss…..)
I haven’t done it yet, but eliminating carpets in favor of hardwood, tile, linoleum, or other smooth flooring surfaces should also make a big difference.
Could I trade this handy list for some home-cooking dog food recipes? Please?! I don’t need them anymore, but some of my friends still do.
Comment by Skijor — April 26, 2007 @ 11:50 am
Many of you are noting sick and dying pets dating back prior to this recall. I put a post about the “Spin Doctors at Diamond Foods” on my blog (noted above). If you check their section on kidney disease, they really want to send the message that pet food is NOT the problem, that kidney disease is common and that there’s a lot of [misinformation] on the Internet about it. HELLO! Don’t tell me with a test lab death rate approaching 30% that those animals were going to get sick, anyway. Please!
Comment by Teresa Holladay — April 26, 2007 @ 11:51 am
Iams is spending a lot of money on advertising, none of it will work on me again, or anyone I can tell about this scandal.
The only thing that MIGHT have worked and IAMS, please don’t try this now because you are too late, really, just making a fool of yourself if you STEAL my idea and go public NOW, would be if you took some shiny face on the TV and got the word out when it was needed.
“If your pets are drinking too much water, if they are suddenly peeing all over the place, sleeping too much and just not acting like they should, then you should know that the pet food you paid for probably killed them but rush to the Vet, pay a fortune, get set for a long nasty siege of lies and grief and have a nice day because we at IAMS really care about your pets”
The PR people IAMS pays so much money to, money IAMS earns off pet owners, could clean that up a bit but you get the drift.
Any company, pet food, pet products,Vets, anyone at all stand up and say what needed to be said?
Did they?
Did I miss it?
Did anyone, at any time, in the last two freaking months, stand up on nationwise TV and say what needed to be said?
No other issue with IAMS matters to me until that one gets better. I want an apology, I want it public and I wanted it to happen before it was just too late to matter.
Too late now.
So I guess Iams is up the creek with the pet owners. Well, they are if I have anything to say about it.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 26, 2007 @ 11:56 am
#
Comment by Krystal Kubichek — April 26, 2007 @ 11:45 am
#
I think in time we’ll find that this event goes far back. My dog refused food in March 2006, and I’ve seen that date repeated here.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 11:57 am
If memory serves, Iams was also the first to find melamine in the Menu-produced wet foods.
Comment by David — April 26, 2007 @ 12:00 pm
Iams has a long, long way to go before they can erase my memory of past sins:
1) Iamscruelty.com
2) Iam’s recent FDA warning for using an unapproved, untested additive—chromium tripicolinate—in their weight management foods
3) Iam’s getting slapped for intentionally understating the amounts to feed dogs/cats on their packaging labels (“feeding guidelines”) in order to reduce the “price per feeding” so to make their foods appear more price competitive.
Comment by Nikki — April 26, 2007 @ 12:01 pm
The five pet food makers Wilbur-Ellis sold the melamine-laced Chinese RPC to are:
1) Diamond Pet Foods, makers of Natural Balance dry foods (plant in MO)
2) Chenango Valley Pet Foods, makers of Drs. Foster & Smith and SmartPac/LiveSmart (plant in NY)
3) Royal Canin, plant in MO
4) C.J. Foods, makers of Blue Buffalo dry foods (plant in KS)
5) American Nutrition, makers of Blue Buffalo and Natural Balance wet foods.
Of course, there are still several pet food makers unnamed—those who bought the tainted Chinese rice protein from the SECOND, as-yet-unnamed, U.S. supplier, the identity of which Sens. Durbin and Cantwell are demanding the FDA release.
Comment by Nikki — April 26, 2007 @ 12:06 pm
Gina or Christie,
Have you any indication of what time the FDA update will be today? Will it be live/webcast?
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 12:17 pm
Not sure if this has been posted yet, China now is “speaking” about scandal and has “banned” melamine and invited FDA inspectors over. Do they really think its going back to business as usual? God help us!
http://tinyurl.com/ysk6lw
Comment by Gracie — April 26, 2007 @ 12:22 pm
Nadine, it will be at 4:15 PM ET.
It will not be aired or webcast. I’ll liveblog it. If the site goes down, I’ll liveblog it at http://www.doggedblog.com.
Comment by Christie Keith — April 26, 2007 @ 12:22 pm
Christie,
Many, many thanks. Your work is outstanding!
Comment by Gracie — April 26, 2007 @ 12:28 pm
Has anyone heard of any pet food companies who will be severing ties with Menu Foods? I haven’t but if there are any, I’d like to know as I don’t want to financially support Menu by purchasing product from their customers. (I know that not all pet food companies use Menu.)
Comment by slt — April 26, 2007 @ 12:32 pm
Comment by Christie Keith — April 26, 2007 @ 12:22 pm
Thank you. So that’s 1:15 pm here in Calif.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 12:33 pm
Comment by Gracie — April 26, 2007 @ 12:22 pm
Of course they do. PT Barnum sold them the bill of goods.
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 12:36 pm
Comment by slt — April 26, 2007 @ 12:32 pm
Nope. Not ONE SINGLE PEEP. They have no intention of severing the Cartel obviously. Their to CHEAP.
They don’t want to Invest in America.
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 12:37 pm
Thanks as always Christie!
Comment by Kim — April 26, 2007 @ 12:37 pm
Americans demand to much right?
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 12:38 pm
how long could this have been going on? My 16 year old cat died suddenly in March 2006 after being completely healthy ALL his life. He was my special boy and I was always curious what happened to him.
Comment by Bj — April 26, 2007 @ 12:40 pm
btw, when is the liveblog conference today?
Comment by Bj — April 26, 2007 @ 12:41 pm
Comment by Bj — April 26, 2007 @ 12:40 pm
Probably a lot longer then “they” are willing to admit.
Comment by Steve — April 26, 2007 @ 12:49 pm
Do we know the topic of the FDA newsconference today and do we have hints as to their disclosures?
Comment by Linda — April 26, 2007 @ 12:54 pm
Comment by slt — April 26, 2007 @ 12:32
“Has anyone heard of any pet food companies who will be severing ties with Menu Foods? I haven’t but if there are any, I’d like to know as I don’t want to financially support Menu by purchasing product from their customers. (I know that not all pet food companies use Menu.”
Yes, the reason I am still feeding my dog Innova DRY is that Natura announced that they are building their own canning facility and will not have their wet food made by Menu as soon as the new facility is ready. They always made their own dry, and their food has no grains, so that wasn’t the issue.
They announced this soon after the large recall broke, and you can see a video of it on their website. They also announced that until the change takes place they will have their own supervisors at the Menu plant to oversee their runs.
Not a perfect severing of ties, for the short term at least, but just enough to keep me as a customer.
Comment by Empress 60 — April 26, 2007 @ 12:55 pm
I know why Menu Foods wanted to avoid the recall. (little note here: this ties in with my inquiry about how soon after eating the food a cat would get ARF and die. Henderson said the first cat died five days after test food - died March 2, 2007)[if he is truthful].
Henderson and Wiens were present with a phone conference on Feb 15, 2007 @ 8:30 AM EST giving their report on 4th quarter 2006 financial results to shareholders. Following is the audio broadcast:
http://tinyurl.com/2dfkk6
Comment by Kathi — April 26, 2007 @ 12:57 pm
Comment by Bj — April 26, 2007 @ 12:40 pm
March 2006 seems to be a date that keeps coming up for sick pets last year.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 12:58 pm
Comment by Kathi — April 26, 2007 @ 12:57 pm
Oh, you supersleuth! You are absolutely correct!
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 12:59 pm
This is from Canada Press dated Feb 16,2007
http://tinyurl.com/yvmqfd
Comment by Kathi — April 26, 2007 @ 12:59 pm
David,
Your question leads to one I have -
if Iams was the first to find melamine in the food - did they test it themselves? I thought the first testing was done by Cornell, and I didn’t think any companies had the ability to test for melamine??
Iams/Eukanuba isn’t getting my money anymore for a variety of reasons. I called and reported the excessive drinking of water by my dog and they blamed it on her age and medical condition. 40 oz to 128 oz + is a big change! I don’t like the way they change formulations and if I had followed the feeding suggestions on the bag - my dogs would be nothing but skin and bone.
I agree with you all: did anybody alert pet owners via TV or newspaper, if your pet is drinking water excessively, etc… get them to a vet! Thank God for Pet Connection!
Until a company can tell me that their food is 100% safe, no more cheap landfill ingredients, etc. I ain’t buying it!
I can not believe the changes in my dog on home cooking. You need to read a few books,there are helpful groups on Yahoo,it takes time to plan and be sure of variety and nutrition. However, my dog is alert!,has coat that I haven’t seen on her in 4 years! no itching, her immune problem is in remission and she’s sleeping at night, no hard tummy, no heavy panting, her water consumption is now normal - since late Dec.,I had forgotten what normal water consumption was!
Personally, I think the pet food makers owe the pet owners a big,big apology. Only thing is: it’s way to late in coming..
Again, my heart goes out to all who have lost a furry kid.
Katie
Comment by Katie — April 26, 2007 @ 1:04 pm
Even if this were true, it does not fully explain the dates. Five days after means test began on February 25-26. That’s still a full ten days after the financial release.
Comment by Carole — April 26, 2007 @ 1:05 pm
i just got back from our local pet store store owner said chicken soup for the cat lover and dog lover was recalled this morning kitten and puppy formula it is off the shelves we are in pennsylvania
Comment by linda k — April 26, 2007 @ 1:06 pm
Do we have any idea of the five brands of pet foods that keep coming up that the Vets mentioned and wouldn’t release?
I thought it was:
Nutro
Iams - dry
SD - dry
and Purina Beneful
Maybe the other Rice Protein supplier shipped to those that make the dry foods I listed above.
Besides the Menu wet realls, have Natural Balance dry and talk of Wellness dry testing going on and then a few brands I haven’t heard about.
Any ideas on a new list of dry foods that are causing a majority of illnesses that the vets noticed? And not to disrespect vets but one would think they had a moral duty to disclose the five for the sake of our pets. And I believe vets love and care for our pets.
Comment by Issy — April 26, 2007 @ 1:06 pm
I mentioned once before that I noticed some unusually high spikes in volume each month when sales were typically flat during the remainder of the month. It seemed odd to me because the share price barely moved beyond a few cents. And as I read more about the problems the company was having and the need to stop payment on the shares I just feel like something is weird about those high once or twice a month volume spikes and the timeline. Not to mention the CFO (innocent or not) selling nearly half his shares with options to buy (which by the way is not unusual - I often sold shares with buy options) it’s more the timing that so interests me. Just a theory.
Any opinions?
Comment by Kathi — April 26, 2007 @ 1:11 pm
Katie, my recollection is that Iams itself was testing the foods (I expect that P&G has labs to do this), and that Iams reported its finding melamine to Cornell (and ?), who confirmed it.
I don’t mean to whitewash Iams, but it does appear that they were the first to take any kind of action.
Comment by David — April 26, 2007 @ 1:23 pm
Carole,
Do we have any evidence of cats dying within 5 days of first being exposed to food. My cat weighs 8.5 lbs. It took at least 3 days for her to start vomiting. I have been searching for any cats who were fed with the food and died within 5 days. You find me proof of this and I’ll accept Henderson’s story. But I’ll let the volume spikes which were huge speak for themselves. Ex: most days the volume remained in a range of 1,000 to 50,000; then a huge spike of 250,000 or 100,000 or 275,000. I posted the charts a few days ago. You can page back all the way to Dec 2005 or beyond if you want. The only flat volume period was Apr, May and Jun.
When I find the post go look for yourself and then give your opinion.
Comment by Kathi — April 26, 2007 @ 1:26 pm
Comment by linda k — April 26, 2007 @ 1:06 pm
“i just got back from our local pet store store owner said chicken soup for the cat lover and dog lover was recalled this morning kitten and puppy formula it is off the shelves we are in pennsylvania”
Linda, just checked and saved a copy of their website to my hard drive. They are still strongly denying online that their products use any of the possible sources for contamination, course we know that doesn’t really mean much ;)
Updates anyone? If you have any knowledge of a “Chicken Soup For” recall let us know!
Comment by Gracie — April 26, 2007 @ 1:29 pm
Linda K. . . please could you tell what products exactly? My daughters agility dogs are on Chicken Soup food!
Comment by Bj — April 26, 2007 @ 1:30 pm
Bj - I’ve asked for more information re: the Chicken Lover’s food in the other thread here Linda K. posted to. I have friends who feed this to their pets so would appreciate any confirmed information asap please! The Chicken Lover’s site doesn’t list anything about a recall.
Comment by Ally — April 26, 2007 @ 1:32 pm
I switched my dogs from Nutro to Chicken Soup for the Dog and would like confirmation as well. They’ve been eating this stuff for 3 weeks not but have not been vomiting like they were on the Nutro.
Comment by LaurieS — April 26, 2007 @ 1:34 pm
my daughters dogs have been on it for like over a year and they seem fine.
Comment by Bj — April 26, 2007 @ 1:35 pm
re: my comment on “Monday Morning News” - April 23, 2007 @ 5:22 PM
this is the link and you are welcome to page back through it and look at the volume of trades. Granted it doesn’t identify who the traders are but it just seems odd for being a low priced share. And the company’s struggles. Not to mention complaints about the products. This could be a dead-end or maybe not. More opinions are welcome. 8)
http://tinyurl.com/yu7z6e
have a looksee.
Comment by Kathi — April 26, 2007 @ 1:45 pm
the pet store owner said it was chicken soup for the cat lover and dog lover soul kitten and puppy food she had it all off her shelves i have also been looking for official confirmation of this
Comment by linda k — April 26, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
Linda K - dry food, wet food, or both? Thanks!
Comment by Kim — April 26, 2007 @ 1:57 pm
another thread said Kirkland Canned has been recalled. . .
http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/petfoods_pg2.htm
Comment by Bj — April 26, 2007 @ 1:57 pm
David,
I don’t mean to put Iam’s in a bad light, and I’m glad they pushed Menu, resulting in pets being saved.
The melamine question is nagging me though: didn’t companies say or someone said melamine is not checked for? since no one expected it, it was not looked for - not part of the screening process.
So I’m wondering, did Iam’s find the melamine?? or was it Cornell only??
Maybe Iam’s suspected a contaminent and didn’t know it was melamine? that must be how it went.
Wish I had saved all those early press releases.
Katie
Comment by Katie — April 26, 2007 @ 2:03 pm
Has anyone contacted the lab in Omaha?
Comment by Sandi Schreiber — April 26, 2007 @ 2:08 pm
i just got off the phone with the pet store owner she said they recieved a phone call this morning confirming the recall on chicken soupkitten and puppy dry and cans
Comment by linda k — April 26, 2007 @ 2:09 pm
i just got off the phone with the pet store owner she said they recieved a phone call this morning confirming the recall on chicken soup puppy and kitten dry and cans
Comment by linda k — April 26, 2007 @ 2:12 pm
Sandi Schreiber - What lab in Omaha?
Comment by elliott — April 26, 2007 @ 2:13 pm
I just called Chicken Soup directly and they stated that none of the dry foods are being recalled and she wasn’t sure about the cans. I’m buying my boys something else tonight anyway. Help! What is SAFE to buy?
Comment by LaurieS — April 26, 2007 @ 2:19 pm
I’m on the west coast and just called the local feed store and they said there is no recall on the chickensoup puppy and kitten foods here. What gives? :(
Comment by Pat — April 26, 2007 @ 2:23 pm
I just got off the phone with Midwest Laboratories, called about gracie’s comment. Thanks for the tip. Nice gentlemen got on the line. “At this time we aren’t taking any samples from the public. We are testing for the manufacters, trying to get to the bottom of this all.” Later, maybe. US Davis also isn’t taking samples from anyone but vets, later? FDA not taking samples, later, save it.
It’s locked in the dishwasher I don’t use, you bet I am keeping it. The rats can’t even get to it.
Comment by Maudigan — April 26, 2007 @ 2:40 pm
Comment by Kathi — April 26, 2007 @ 1:26 pm
Kathi, since I have been unable to read every post here I am not clear on what you are getting at, hence my above post.
In fact, there are several notions being tossed around here that I have not quite been able to follow…only because there are so many posts and topics jump from thread to thread.
Comment by Carole — April 26, 2007 @ 2:48 pm
does anyone know anything about nutromax? My coworker’s dog eats it and had a seizure this week. Her dog is elderly, so we don’t know what the cause is. I couldn’t find it on the pet food website.
Comment by Joyce — April 26, 2007 @ 2:52 pm
I also need to know if the Chicken Soup recall is true.
Comment by Amy Boda — April 26, 2007 @ 2:53 pm
Stupid me…I thought she was saying Nutromax, like one word, and she was saying Nutro Max. The dry wasn’t recalled, but I don’t trust Nutro. That’s what my dog was eating when he went into ARF
Comment by Joyce — April 26, 2007 @ 2:55 pm
As far as Iams goes…great they pushed Menu into a recall, but not nearly soon enough to save more lives. Also, IMO they insisted on this recall to cover their own behinds. If Iams issues the first recall they look like the good guy, thus saving face with many of their consumers (I really hope not, as all of their consumers were duped into thinking that Iams products were top of the line nutritious). They can shout “OUTRAGE” at Menu all they want, but if their own QC was any good, Chinese ingredients would never have gotten into their products to begin with.
Comment by Amy Boda — April 26, 2007 @ 2:58 pm
Katie, just for you I did a quick google and found this:
“The melamine find was initially made not by the FDA, nor by any university labs involved in the search, but by a pet-food maker: Procter & Gamble, which makes Iams and Eukanuba, the FDA says.”
http://www.usatoday.com/printe.....si.art.htm
Comment by David — April 26, 2007 @ 3:25 pm
Call your vet If your pet is drinking water excessively - or refusing to drink water. Refusing food and water is also a symptom, perhaps less common and related to dogs.
Comment by Kristi — April 26, 2007 @ 3:34 pm
there is aperson named nadine on one of the blogs here she spoke to chicken soup dog and cat foods they confirmed with her there is a recall on chicken soup puppy and kitten food cans but not dry
Comment by linda k — April 26, 2007 @ 3:45 pm
I was looking back through some of the earlier (in March) postings on the various blogs, and came up with this one on Itchmo which is interesting to pull up and review again. It points out that IAMS and MenuFoods have an exclusive manufacturing contract through the year 2013:
http://tinyurl.com/3yffll
Comment by Pat — April 26, 2007 @ 3:57 pm
Okay David,
It is interesting because: didn’t the FDA and companies say that melamine was not suspected, never crossed the radar, never been tested for. This was a whole new thing. I must have misunderstood.
I wonder what led P&G to melamine.
Thanks for the URL, with all the info here in the last six weeks,the mind is getting foggy.
Katie
Comment by Katie — April 26, 2007 @ 4:01 pm
“I wonder what led P&G to melamine.”
P&G manufactures products made from melamine so one would assume that they are familiar with melamine and its properties. They would have to be in order to do testing of cleaning products.
Comment by Carole — April 26, 2007 @ 4:19 pm
In Henderson’s opening statement, a little ways down, he said a reference about the timeline and that some timelines (other’s) were inacurate, but he did not speak of it and said the timeline is in his submitted report.
I’m suggesting Henderson fudged the timeline. For one he had already received consumer reports about the deaths of cats from at least two or possibly three sources. One of which I believe involved Iams. These reports came in before he tested on or about Feb 26. I don’t recall what those earlier dates were. I’d need to find the earlier news reports unless one of you already saved the news.
I still believe he knew before he gave the 4Q Reports on Feb 15. And I think that’s why Iams started pushing for a recall.
Kravis from Nutro claims (maybe, maybe not - the verdict is still out on this fellow, too) that he told Menu to broaden the recall, but I don’t know which date Kravis was refering to.
But I do recall many people reporting and complaining something was wrong with the food as far back as Dec and Jan. This is according to the many comments I read from around the country shortly after first recall.
This Fund has had some difficulty for some time. The payouts were stopped when they needed to meet other financial obligations.
Speaking from personal experience, whenever one of my funds decreased the dividends, I usually sold some of my shares with options to buy later, then invest in some shorter term higher risk stocks or put in short term CD’s, especially if I didn’t need it to offset taxes.
I’ve already asked OSC a while back to look into the CFO’s dumping. If I can gather enough facts on the timeline then I’ll submit another letter to OSC. They did send an email, but the contents are protected. But on their website and per a spokesperson in the Canada papers. The OSC does not reveal if they are investigating to the public.
Comment by Kathi — April 26, 2007 @ 4:24 pm
Carole,
Thank you, I didn’t even think of that!
Katie
Comment by Katie — April 26, 2007 @ 4:34 pm
I just received this email from the people at Chicken Soup:
Laurie, I looked into the blog that you sent and I could not find the news about the Chicken Soup. Diamond Pet Foods is recalling 3 canned products, Diamond Canned Lamb & Rice Adult Dog, Chicken Soup Canned Puppy and Chicken Soup Canned Kitten. It should be noted that all the test of these formulas have tested negative for contaminations. Diamond Pet Foods is taking this voluntary action as a precaution. Please note that no other products are being recalled and are safe to feed. There are no dry pet foods being recalled. Laurie please feel free to post this on the pet connection site.
John Kampeter
Director of Marketing
Comment by LaurieS — April 26, 2007 @ 4:47 pm
Just to clarify, the email above was from John Kampeter, Director of Marketing, Diamond Pet Foods
Comment by LaurieS — April 26, 2007 @ 4:51 pm
Also in my inbox:
On April 26th, American Nutrition, the manufacturer of our canned
products, announced a recall on products made with rice protein
concentrate. As a result, Diamond Pet Foods is withdrawing three
specific canned products from retail shelves. These products are
Diamond Lamb and Rice Formula for Dogs 13 oz cans; Chicken Soup for the
Pet Lover’s Soul Kitten Formula 5.5 oz cans; and Chicken Soup for the
Pet Lover’s Soul Puppy Formula 13 oz cans. No other canned Diamond Pet
Foods formulas are a part of the recall and none of the dry foods are
being recalled.
Janet L. Rettenmaier, DVM, MS
Veterinary Services
Diamond Pet Foods
Comment by LaurieS — April 26, 2007 @ 4:54 pm
“I wonder what led P&G to melamine.”
FDA stated that they were visible to the naked eye.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 4:56 pm
Melamine crystals, that is.
Comment by Nadine Long — April 26, 2007 @ 4:57 pm
Nadine, darling…
Millions of substances have a crystal form… the presence of a crystalline substance would not automatically prompt anyone to look for melamine.
The simple truth is that P&G found the main/indicator contaminant implicatd in this recall by virtue of their own testing. This does not absolve P&G (Iams/Eukanaba) of culpability from failing to test products that they put their name on, but it does show that they took it seriously when the manure hit the fan. And they had the wherewithall to do the tests… how many of the boutique “producers” (read “contractors dependent on what Menu tells them”) involved in this recall can claim this degree of compentency?
Menu dropped the ball, and Iams/P&G was the first to pick it up…
Comment by David — April 26, 2007 @ 6:45 pm
If Iams was so fast to figure this out why did they NOT get the pet owners warned?
Plenty of happy happy pet pictures and sunshine up the fundiment but somehow the news people needed to get their pets to the vet in time (well, maybe, if your vet had a clue what was happening, if you can blow 2-3 grand on a moments notice, if you weren’t given YET more poison to force feed the poor pet and have a hotline to supernatural forces, as well as 2-3 hours a day to devote to medical care) just did not get on the TV.
It’s a mystery.
Maybe Iams thought no one would notice the pets dropping dead.
Maybe Iams just forgot about the folks who pay for all the stuff they sell.
Could be Iams did not think it was all that important in the first place.
But never , not once , did they get a shiny face on the tube and say a fool thing about the drinking of too much water and the other symptoms.
It might have bought them enough loyalty to ride this out, now they will get what they get, and it won’t be my money.
Oh, Iams USED their money and power , with Menu Foods and then kept the mouth shut and let us swing in the breeze while the dying and the lying went on and on.
That same power could have gotten the news out and nothing on earth will ever convince me they used the power for OUR benefit, they knew pets were dying and it was the butt covering that mattered.
Comment by E. Hamilton — April 26, 2007 @ 8:23 pm
Pets were dying since Nov. maybe earlier than that.Maybe IAMs and all the other pet food companies thought it would blow over without a major incidence.
IAMs was just covering their behinds to avert a major crisis…customers not buying their products… it’s all about the MONEY.
Now the FDA is going to check the corn. IAMs keeps saying the dry food is safe because its made with corn.
My pet died before the recalls and she ate the dry food. That doesn’t make me feel any better, my pet is dead for no reason. I was the one who looked into her pleading eyes wanting me to make her feel better.
It’s all about the money and now those companies who are recalling left and right want to save their sales.
Make it cheap, buy wherever, sell it expensive and put fancy selling key words on the bag to make it look good.
Comment by Ruth — April 26, 2007 @ 9:55 pm
The point here that everyone is missing is that the contaminate is not something that was expected. This is not an issue of lack of standards, or failure of quality control. There is no precident for a contamination like this one.
These are human grade ingredients, and even if they had been used in baby food, the contamination would not have been caught before production.
No company can be expected to test every ingredient for every contaminate. Firstly, it’s almost impossible, and secondly, the costs would be astronomical.
Is the company here totally in the wrong for waiting to recall? YES. That point is not arguable. But to blame anyone but the chinese manufacturers for the original issue is just not logical.
For those of you who are upset that many manufacturers use this single canning facility, again lets have a dose of reality. These facilities are only financially viable when they run almost continuously. Ever wonder how that can of fancy feast only costs $0.49? It’s because both the ingredients and the can are CHEAP.
Canning is so cheap because these facilities run 24/7. They can do this because they can foods for multiple companies, otherwise the factory would only operate for a few hours a day. The reality is that only a very small percentage of pet food is wet food, and none of these companies (ok, well, maybe Iams) sells enough food to can their own in a cost effective manner.
The problem is not the facility, it’s the ingredients! Companies who turn over their purchasing to other companies leave their reputation in the hands of another. Innova, Wellness… to the best of my knowledge these companies supply their own ingredients.
And PLEASE stop saying it’s all about money, as if it’s a sin. OF COURSE it’s all about money. These are huge companies, who are out to make a profit. They want to make the best profit possible, because that’s what companies do. What did you think, when you bought that can of Science Diet? That you were contributing to a not-for-profit organization? No, you’re putting another buck in the pocket of an international parent company.
The only solution to this problem is a greater level of transparacy. Consumers should be able to know exactly what quality controls are in place, what testing is performed, where the ingredients come from, and WHAT IS IN EVERY PRODUCT.
Currently, for example, if a manufacturer purchases a meal that contains ethyoxyquin, they don’t have to put ethoxyquin on the bag, because they didn’t add it personally. So all of these “naturally preserved” products with 18 months shelf lives? Sorry, guys, reality check.
Natural Balance was busted months ago for having white potato protein in their Fish and Sweet Potato dry foods without putting it on the label. This is not a new occurance.
We need tougher laws, more transparancy, and I want to know where these ingredients come from. I want a description on every companies website about where that ingredient came from, and what it actually contains (Powdered Cellulose is a good example, which can come from ANY plant fibre… scary).
Also, to whoever mentioned the expiry date issue. 2-3 years is common with canned food, although in reality it is much longer. Pouches, however, are only good for 1-2 years, depending on the level of preservative.
The simple solution? Choose your manufacturer carefully. Iams has had hundreds of recalls within the past few years. Diamond Pet food (Chicken Soup) killed hundreds of animals just a few years ago. Read labels, call companies, get answers BEFORE opening that can. Or better yet, just share your own dinner.
Comment by Kim — April 27, 2007 @ 8:38 am
The whole pet food industry is designed to offload waste byproduct onto your pets for prices as high as premium human food. Go buy a small beefsteak for your cat and then buy a can of foul smelling cat food. Compare costs. It is no more exensive to feed your cats steaks and canned fish than it is to feed them the utterly foul garbage produced by the pet food industry. Everyone in the pet food industry should recognize themselves for what they are: con artists.
Comment by Tom Lowe — April 28, 2007 @ 5:07 pm
Tom Lowe: WELL SAID!
Comment by Kat — April 28, 2007 @ 5:35 pm
re: Comment by Kim — April 27, 2007 @ 8:38 am
Oh, my…
Well, maybe a little research would help you see more of what we are complaining about:
Sally Q. Miller
Rendering
Alibaba
Fusing
Made-in-China
FDA/OASIS website
NY State Lab’s & Cornell Univ. Lab’s purpose after post 9-11
TheMeatrix.com
Then, as far as transparency? How about the TRUTH, instead??
Comment by Kat — April 28, 2007 @ 5:55 pm
I was feeding my dog iams dry minichunks and the adult dog treats, but i had no problem with it at all. But once all the poisonings started, i dropped Iams entirely(especially after I found out about their treatment of the research animals!) I switched to California Natural dry Lamb and rice dog food, plus the lamb and rice healthbars-I had gotten samples before and my dog loved it. I have read nothing bad at all about Natura, who makes California Natural-as far as i know it is a good dog food maker not involved in any recall. They are based in california-has anyone tried California natural yet? They also make Innova, Healthwise, Karma brands. By the way, I do not feed my dog any canned dog food at all! I stopped years ago-I give him chicken breast once in a while-it’s hard to trust any food anymore, for pets or for people.
Comment by Suzi — April 28, 2007 @ 9:26 pm